La diachronie du prétérit occitan à la lumière des sources textuelles

Abstract

The preterite (reflex of Latin perfect indicative) undergoes extensive analogical remodelling in the history of Occitan varieties. The substance of the individual changes (introduction of a rhotic consonant, loss of stress alternation, generalisation of a thematic mid vowel, spread of velar-final stems) can be discerned by comparing mediaeval and modern inflectional forms; for both periods, inflectional forms exhibit a high degree of consistency across geographic areas. In order to date the changes, this study examines preterite forms attested in historical documents produced from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century in two regions within the Languedoc dialect area (Albigeois/ Quercy/Rouergue; Montpellier/Béziers). The consistency of the dates obtained supports the hypothesis of a shared sequence of changes applying to all varieties.

Keywords

• analogical change
• occitan
• old conditional
• preterite
• verb inflection